Appliance for surgical beds.



PATENTED OCT. 31, 1905.

E. H. RICHARDS.

APPLIANCE FOR SURGICAL BEDS.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 27, 1905.

2 S EETS-SHEBT 1.

mnnsw. 8, Guam ca, mowumonmvuzns. wlsmmmn. D. c.

PATENTED OCT. 31, 1905.

E. H. RICHARDS.

APPLIANCE FOR SURGICAL BEDS.

urmouron'rmnn ms. 21, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

EMILY H. RICHARDS, OF OAK PARK, ILLINOIS.

APPLIANCE FOR SURGICAL BEDS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 31, 1905.

Application filed January 2'7, 1905. Serial No. 242,929.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EMILY H. RICHARDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oak Park, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Appliances for Surgical Beds, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to appliances for surgical beds, and more particularly to a device adapted to be used in connection with the usual surgical stretcher or with an invalidbedstead, and has among its salient objectsto provide a device which is complete in itself and adapted to be used as an attachment which can be readily and quickly applied to a surgical stretcher or invalid-bedstead for the purpose of supporting the patient during treatment in such manner that no wrinkles or folds of the bedding will interfere with his comfort or with the convenience of the operators, to provide an attachment of such construction that every requirement for the comfort and relief of a patient that is to be had in the various invalid -beds is met, and in general to provide a device of the character referred to which is simple, efiicient, and economical.

The invention will be readily understood from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of the device as attached to a stretcher. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view with parts in position, and Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a divided pad for use with the device.

Referring to the drawings, 1 and 2 designate, respectively, the side bars of the ordinary stretcher provided at their ends with the usual cross-webs 3 3.

The device constituting the present invention comprises a main hammock-like sheet of canvas 4, the ends of which are extended to the cross-webs 3 3 and pinned thereto, as at 5. At each side said canvas sheet is provided with reinforcingstrips of canvas or other suitable material secured thereto and forming longitudinally-extending bar-receiving pockets 6 6, in which are placed the bars 7 7 8 designates a series of attaching or suspension straps passed through the canvas sheet and reinforcing-strips around the bars 7 7 and buckled around the side bars 1 2 of the stretcher.

By using the inserted bars? 7 the supporting strain is uniformly applied to the sides of the sheet and the latter is stretched taut with a perfectly smooth surface, thus avoiding any cross wrinkles or folds or ridges to interfere with the comfort of the patient, as would be the case if the suspension-straps were secured longitudinally-extending bars 7 7.

10 designates an underlying strap-like web portion which is secured to the side of the sheet, as at 11, Fig. 2, and adapted to be passed underneath and transversely across the sheet in such manner as to cover a central opening 12 therein, said web portion being provided with a series of suspension-straps 13, provided with rings 14, which when passed around under the side bar 2 are attached to the snaphooks 15, arranged at the opposite side of the sheet.

,16 designates a quilted pad adapted to be applied to the sheet or hammock member 4, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, said pad being provided with a central opening 17, adapted to register with the opening 12 in the sheet 4 and also divided from said opening 17 down to one end, as indicated at 18, Fig. 3, so that it may be'readily adjusted to. position and removed. Said pad is pinned in place, as

indicated, by the pins 19.

While I have herein shown and described what I deem the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that alterations and modifications can be made in the details of construction and arrrangement without departing from the spirit of the invention, and

' I do not, therefore, limit the invention to the details here shown, except in so far as such details are made the subject-matter of specific claims.

I claim- 1. An appliance for use in surgical operations, comprising a supporting member of sheet material provided at its sides with a pair of longitudinally-extending bars, suspensionstraps connected with said bars for securing said supporting member to the side bars of a stretcher or bedstead, means for securing the ends of said sheet member to a part of said stretcher or bedstead, said sheet member being provided with a central opening, and an directly to the fabric Without the use of the underlying strap-like web portion secured at one end to said sheet member and adapted to be extended across the same transversely to underlie said central opening and attached at the opposite side of said sheet member.

2. An appliance for use in surgical operations, comprising a supporting member of canvas provided at its sides with longitudinally-extending pockets, a pair of bar members inserted in said pockets,suspension-straps attached to said supporting member and said bar members for securing said members to the side bars of a stretcher or bedstead, said supporting member being provided with a central opening and having its ends extended and secured to parts of said stretcher or bedstead, an underlying, transversely-extending, web member attached at one end to said supporting member and provide with means for detachably securing it to the other side of said supporting member, substantially as described.

3. An appliance for use with a stretcher or bedstead in hospital work, comprising a supporting-sheet provided at its sides with longitudinally-extending bars, a plurality of suspension-straps secured to said bars for attaching said sheet to the side bars of a stretcher or the like, the ends of said sheet being extended to and detachably secured to parts of said stretcher, said sheet being provided with a central opening, an underlying, transverselyextending web member detachably secured to said supporting-sheet in alinement with said opening, and a divided pad detachably secured to said supporting-sheet, substantially as described.

4. An appliance for attachment to a stretcher or bedstead in hospital work, comprising a canvas-sheet member provided intermediate its length at each side with a longitudinallyextending pocket of a length suflicient to extend opposite the chief weight-supporting in such manner as to hold the canvas sheet longitudinally taut.

5. An appliance for attachment to a stretcher or bedstead in hospital work, comprising a sheet of canvas material provided at its sides in the middle portion thereof with reinforcing-strips of canvas forming longitudinallyextending pockets, a pair of bars inserted in said pockets,suspension-straps passed through said sheet and around said bars and the side bars of the stretcher or bedstead for supporting and tightening said sheet, said sheet being provided with a central opening, means for securing the ends of said sheet to parts of said stretcher, and an underlying,transverselyeXtending web portion secured at one end to said reinforcing-strips and passed across said central opening in said sheet and around the side bars of said stretcher, and holding-hooks for detachably holding the end thereof substantially as and for the purpose described.

EMILY H. RICHARDS.

Witnesses:

FREDERICK O. GooDwIN, -ALBERT H. GRAvEs. 

